Hi and congratulations on having a beautiful girl veiled chameleon. These little sweeties are near and dear to my heart, and I’ve learned from some of the very best keepers on the forum how to care for them and effectively manage their reproductive health. Now I’m passing that knowledge on to you, so that you enjoy your little beauty for many years to come.
Veiled chameleons need to grow up and reproduce quickly, since in the wild they have a very limited life span. Our girls can reach sexual maturity as young as 5-6 months old. Over feeding will further this along early, so we need to be careful not to over feed. This can be a bit tricky as we don’t want to stunt growth either. Starting at around 5 months old, you’ll want to slowly start reducing her diet so that by the time she’s reached 6-7 months, she’s getting 5-8 smaller sized feeders daily. By 7-8 months, she should be getting 3-4 feeders, every other day and by 9-10 months old, further reduce her to 3-4 feeders three days a week (plus treats). If she happens to mature and lay eggs before any of this, the schedule will jump ahead. An important part of this is maintaining a basking temp at and no higher than 80F. This will keep her metabolism at a stable and slightly decreased rate, preventing her from becoming overly hungry.
Receptive Period
At some point around or after 5-6 months old, your girl will start to develop her adult colors and patterns. These are not to be confused with her showing patterns and such when ‘fired up’ as those will go away and her adult colors will not. You’ll start seeing teals and orange or mustard yellow colors. Some girls keep their colors hidden and will show only dark patterns. However, when excited their colors will pop out.
Along with her colors developing, your girl will also be having her first receptive period. This is when she’s ready for mating. For up to a few weeks she’ll be very restless in her search for a boy. She almost endlessly search all throughout her enclosure and she may have a decrease in her appetite. This is when you need to get your lay bin ready.
The Lay Bin
This is really quite simple to prepare. You’ll need a good sized plastic bin of at least 12” long and wide. Bonus points to get one that is deep and at least semi opaque. Drill some tiny holes in the bottom for excess water to drain. Fill to around 5-6” with washed play sand or you can use a 50/50 mix of play sand and organic soil. Moisten enough throughout so that the substrate can hold a tunnel without collapsing. Avoid fluffy material like cocoa coir, moss and anything similar. Provide a couple of stable ways for her to get in and out and if possible, place in the back of the enclosure where it has less visibility. Some chameleons have a preference for a bathroom area - try to avoid that. If any poo does get in the bin, just scoop it out as you do your regular spot cleaning. You can put a plant in the bin (you’ll need to use the 50/50 mix) and some girls like laying their eggs against root balls. It’s best to keep the lay bin in the enclosure permanently.
Gravid
After the receptive period ends, you’ll notice your girl starting to become plump, maybe even lumpy and her colors will change. Most girls will darken in some manner. Either their green will darken and the yellow spots will be looking super bright, their dark patterns will start to blur together or maybe they’ll be subtle and just their dots will darken. As her developing eggs are taking up space, she may have a decrease in appetite and activity levels. At this time I start getting ready by partially securing the cover sheet to one side of the enclosure.
Laying
At any time after approximately a month from the end of the receptive period, she can be ready to lay her eggs. One morning she won’t be in her usual spot and you’ll see she’s found her bin and is busy digging. Do not disturb her and try not to let her see you. Pull the sheet across to cover the bottom half or third of the enclosure and give her privacy. If she sees anyone or is disturbed, she may stop digging and this increases the risk for her to become egg bound. I poke small holes in my cover sheet so I can peek in to monitor her progress. Some may use a video camera that has been set up well in advance. Don’t worry about if it’s a feeding day. If you don’t have an automatic misting system, you can set up a dripper if you like (just avoid it dripping into the bin). I’m not sure that they are stopping for water breaks. You want to maintain your usual light schedule.
She may dig several test holes until she likes one. Then she’ll dig out her tunnel with her mitten hands until she reaches the bottom. This is usually on a diagonal and against one of the sides too. Then she’ll turn around so that she’s facing out of her tunnel and lay her eggs. This entire process may take a couple of days and she may choose to sleep in her tunnel. Some return to their usual safe sleeping area. You’ll know she’s finished when she’s very carefully covered all of her holes and is sitting in her usual basking spot, looking very dirty and much thinner.
You’ll need to feed and hydrate her very well for the next 2-3 days. Hornworms are excellent treats which are high in calcium and will help rehydrate her. Silkworms are also great staple feeders for hydration.
Sometime in the next day or two, you’ll want to remove the eggs from the bin and count them before tossing them out. Unless she’s been mated, the eggs are infertile. This is also a great time to weigh your girl for a baseline weight.
The Diet Regimen
The number of eggs produced is directly related to how much your girl eats. If you overfeed her, she can have very large clutches of eggs 3-4 times a year. This not only takes a great deal out of her and shortens her natural life span, but it increases the risks for complications with laying. After she recovers from laying, you’ll start her on a diet regimen of 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week (plus treats). It may take a cycle or so to take effect, and of course each girl’s systems are unique to them, but this should greatly reduce the number and frequency of eggs produced. The goal is clutches of 20 or less eggs and with laying less often. In many this works so great that they may lay only once a year, or not at all. However, they will probably still go through receptive periods and it’s possible to have repeated and consecutive receptive periods and no eggs laid. If you monitor weights regularly, you may see that she will gain weight almost up to a gravid weight. Then with no eggs laid, her weight will reduce. This is nerve wracking and it’s important to be alert for signs that your girl may be having a problem.
Signs of Complications
While as she gets near to laying, her appetite and activity may decrease and she may start looking around towards the bottom of her enclosure, may do similar if distressed and you’ll need to know the difference. Staying on or near the floor and not basking or moving much and showing no interest in food are signs of distress. Other signs include eyes closed during the day, dropping eggs randomly, blood or bleeding from anywhere, anything protruding from the vent, appearing to be straining to pass something (egg or poo), spending several days digging in different areas and sunken eyes and appearance of muscle wasting to the face. If you notice any of these or just have a gut feeling that something is wrong, you need to take your girl to a veterinarian who has experience with chameleons without delay. The longer the delay, the weaker your girl will become and the poorer her odds are of surviving. Either she will be too weak to lay the eggs on her own or to survive surgical removal (which will spay her) of them.
Another sign to be alert for is appearing to have laid her eggs, but still appearing plump and/or lumpy or digging again. This could signal that she has retained some eggs. Only an x ray by your vet can determine this. If your girl is spending days restlessly trying different areas to dig, it may be that she is unhappy with her lay bin. If it is less than the 12” long/wide, try a larger one. If it is shallow, try a deeper one. I found that they are very fussy about where they lay their eggs.
With correct husbandry, the risks of complications are greatly reduced. Many of us on the forum are more than happy to review your care. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/ Do ask whatever questions you may have, share your experiences, celebrate a successful egg laying or just share pics of your beautiful girl.
Veiled chameleons need to grow up and reproduce quickly, since in the wild they have a very limited life span. Our girls can reach sexual maturity as young as 5-6 months old. Over feeding will further this along early, so we need to be careful not to over feed. This can be a bit tricky as we don’t want to stunt growth either. Starting at around 5 months old, you’ll want to slowly start reducing her diet so that by the time she’s reached 6-7 months, she’s getting 5-8 smaller sized feeders daily. By 7-8 months, she should be getting 3-4 feeders, every other day and by 9-10 months old, further reduce her to 3-4 feeders three days a week (plus treats). If she happens to mature and lay eggs before any of this, the schedule will jump ahead. An important part of this is maintaining a basking temp at and no higher than 80F. This will keep her metabolism at a stable and slightly decreased rate, preventing her from becoming overly hungry.
Receptive Period
At some point around or after 5-6 months old, your girl will start to develop her adult colors and patterns. These are not to be confused with her showing patterns and such when ‘fired up’ as those will go away and her adult colors will not. You’ll start seeing teals and orange or mustard yellow colors. Some girls keep their colors hidden and will show only dark patterns. However, when excited their colors will pop out.
Along with her colors developing, your girl will also be having her first receptive period. This is when she’s ready for mating. For up to a few weeks she’ll be very restless in her search for a boy. She almost endlessly search all throughout her enclosure and she may have a decrease in her appetite. This is when you need to get your lay bin ready.
The Lay Bin
This is really quite simple to prepare. You’ll need a good sized plastic bin of at least 12” long and wide. Bonus points to get one that is deep and at least semi opaque. Drill some tiny holes in the bottom for excess water to drain. Fill to around 5-6” with washed play sand or you can use a 50/50 mix of play sand and organic soil. Moisten enough throughout so that the substrate can hold a tunnel without collapsing. Avoid fluffy material like cocoa coir, moss and anything similar. Provide a couple of stable ways for her to get in and out and if possible, place in the back of the enclosure where it has less visibility. Some chameleons have a preference for a bathroom area - try to avoid that. If any poo does get in the bin, just scoop it out as you do your regular spot cleaning. You can put a plant in the bin (you’ll need to use the 50/50 mix) and some girls like laying their eggs against root balls. It’s best to keep the lay bin in the enclosure permanently.
Gravid
After the receptive period ends, you’ll notice your girl starting to become plump, maybe even lumpy and her colors will change. Most girls will darken in some manner. Either their green will darken and the yellow spots will be looking super bright, their dark patterns will start to blur together or maybe they’ll be subtle and just their dots will darken. As her developing eggs are taking up space, she may have a decrease in appetite and activity levels. At this time I start getting ready by partially securing the cover sheet to one side of the enclosure.
Laying
At any time after approximately a month from the end of the receptive period, she can be ready to lay her eggs. One morning she won’t be in her usual spot and you’ll see she’s found her bin and is busy digging. Do not disturb her and try not to let her see you. Pull the sheet across to cover the bottom half or third of the enclosure and give her privacy. If she sees anyone or is disturbed, she may stop digging and this increases the risk for her to become egg bound. I poke small holes in my cover sheet so I can peek in to monitor her progress. Some may use a video camera that has been set up well in advance. Don’t worry about if it’s a feeding day. If you don’t have an automatic misting system, you can set up a dripper if you like (just avoid it dripping into the bin). I’m not sure that they are stopping for water breaks. You want to maintain your usual light schedule.
She may dig several test holes until she likes one. Then she’ll dig out her tunnel with her mitten hands until she reaches the bottom. This is usually on a diagonal and against one of the sides too. Then she’ll turn around so that she’s facing out of her tunnel and lay her eggs. This entire process may take a couple of days and she may choose to sleep in her tunnel. Some return to their usual safe sleeping area. You’ll know she’s finished when she’s very carefully covered all of her holes and is sitting in her usual basking spot, looking very dirty and much thinner.
You’ll need to feed and hydrate her very well for the next 2-3 days. Hornworms are excellent treats which are high in calcium and will help rehydrate her. Silkworms are also great staple feeders for hydration.
Sometime in the next day or two, you’ll want to remove the eggs from the bin and count them before tossing them out. Unless she’s been mated, the eggs are infertile. This is also a great time to weigh your girl for a baseline weight.
The Diet Regimen
The number of eggs produced is directly related to how much your girl eats. If you overfeed her, she can have very large clutches of eggs 3-4 times a year. This not only takes a great deal out of her and shortens her natural life span, but it increases the risks for complications with laying. After she recovers from laying, you’ll start her on a diet regimen of 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week (plus treats). It may take a cycle or so to take effect, and of course each girl’s systems are unique to them, but this should greatly reduce the number and frequency of eggs produced. The goal is clutches of 20 or less eggs and with laying less often. In many this works so great that they may lay only once a year, or not at all. However, they will probably still go through receptive periods and it’s possible to have repeated and consecutive receptive periods and no eggs laid. If you monitor weights regularly, you may see that she will gain weight almost up to a gravid weight. Then with no eggs laid, her weight will reduce. This is nerve wracking and it’s important to be alert for signs that your girl may be having a problem.
Signs of Complications
While as she gets near to laying, her appetite and activity may decrease and she may start looking around towards the bottom of her enclosure, may do similar if distressed and you’ll need to know the difference. Staying on or near the floor and not basking or moving much and showing no interest in food are signs of distress. Other signs include eyes closed during the day, dropping eggs randomly, blood or bleeding from anywhere, anything protruding from the vent, appearing to be straining to pass something (egg or poo), spending several days digging in different areas and sunken eyes and appearance of muscle wasting to the face. If you notice any of these or just have a gut feeling that something is wrong, you need to take your girl to a veterinarian who has experience with chameleons without delay. The longer the delay, the weaker your girl will become and the poorer her odds are of surviving. Either she will be too weak to lay the eggs on her own or to survive surgical removal (which will spay her) of them.
Another sign to be alert for is appearing to have laid her eggs, but still appearing plump and/or lumpy or digging again. This could signal that she has retained some eggs. Only an x ray by your vet can determine this. If your girl is spending days restlessly trying different areas to dig, it may be that she is unhappy with her lay bin. If it is less than the 12” long/wide, try a larger one. If it is shallow, try a deeper one. I found that they are very fussy about where they lay their eggs.
With correct husbandry, the risks of complications are greatly reduced. Many of us on the forum are more than happy to review your care. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/ Do ask whatever questions you may have, share your experiences, celebrate a successful egg laying or just share pics of your beautiful girl.
